OXNARD, Calif. - I have a favorite preseason memory.
That's right, a preseason memory. Laugh if you like.
Mexico City in 1994. Cowboys are playing the Houston Oilers. Logistics in and out of Azteca Stadium are a nightmare, and to make it more fun, it's rained all day and the place is a mud bath.
At the start of the fourth quarter, security starts rounding up all the Cowboys official party in the stands to get on the family bus to get out of Dodge. Brill Garrett, wife of the third team quarterback (now Mrs. Offensive Coordinator), says, "I'm not going." But you have to, security pleads. We've got to get everyone rounded up.
"Tough," says Brill. "My husband plays in the fourth quarter in preseason, and I'm staying to watch him play." (I'm pretty sure she stayed. You don't really tell Brill Garrett a whole lot of no, but that's another column.)
I always think of that when preseason games start, because this will mark the time when some young men get to play. For some, the month that begins Saturday night in San Diego will be the only pro football they will play.
For some, the chance to make the team begins in earnest right now. But if they don't make this team, they should remember, because their coaches are telling them, these preseason games are auditions for everyone in the NFL. Play hard and play your best. Your job, wherever it may be, could depend on it.
If you doubt, ask Justin Rogers.
Rogers might be one of the most anonymous Cowboys who helped the team to 13-3 last year, but his teammates and coaches know him. Here in Oxnard, Number 50 is everywhere in a defensive drill. He's the No. 3 "mike" linebacker, the strong inside position behind Bradie James. He's also played "mo," the weakside inside backer behind Zach Thomas. He plays in substitute nickel packages and he's backed up at outside linebacker, where he played last year. More than once, Rogers has played three different positions in a single practice.
And, he hasn't yet had a chance to really show what he does best, at least to this point in his young career. Justin Rogers is a special teams ace, and the Cowboys need as many as they can find.
Dallas was an average kicking-game team last year. Kickoff return was a good unit. Punt return was average. Coverage teams were in the bottom half of the league. They had lost Ryan Fowler, one of the top special teams performers in '06, to free agency, and released another, safety Abram Elam, in the final cut. Now they pursue a championship without their special teams captain, Keith Davis, a new Dolphin.
Special teams create hidden yards by establishing field position, and you can only practice them so much. There's nothing like what can only happen in a preseason game, and Justin Rogers knows it.
"That's my niche on the team," Rogers said after Monday morning's practice. "I'm expected to be a good special teams player. That's the only reason I made the team. I've just got to keep excelling at that, get better and help the young guys come up and keep performing. That's what this league is about is performing."
"Help the young guys," did he say? That's a good one. Justin Rogers is one of the young guys, and you won't find too many in this camp happier about being a Cowboy.
Rogers won't turn 25 until Labor Day weekend, but he already knows what it's like to play in the comforts of home. Rogers is from Greenville, Texas and was a star defensive end at SMU. Good enough to be drafted in the sixth round last year by the New England Patriots, who have been known to have a pretty good eye for talent. After playing in all four preseason games, Rogers was waived in the last cutdown, a day after his birthday. The next day, the Cowboys claimed him.
"It's a lot better this year," he says. "Last year, after being in training camp with New England, I was just thrown in here. I didn't have any chemistry with the team yet. Lots different this time around."
The people coaching him appreciate Rogers' enthusiasm and attitude as well as his intelligence.
"Guys who really enjoy the game of football enjoy special teams," says Cowboys' special teams coach Bruce Read. "They like blocking, tackling, running, all the things you do as a football player. They're competitive and they know they can help and make a difference. Justin is great like that. He was amazing last year, coming in and playing for real in less than a week. He's steady, smart, and coachable, and he doesn't make mistakes."
New linebackers coach Reggie Herring appreciates Rogers' versatility. "He's the ultimate utility guy," says Herring. "He puts a lot of pressure on himself to learn every position, not just the ones he's playing. That's a show of respect to his teammates. He'll know where they're expected to be so he knows where to go. You're going to have injuries, and it's important to have people like him who do a solid job and you know will handle whatever you give them. He's going to be a valuable guy on our team."
But especially in the kicking game, where Rogers was on all of the special teams "Big 4" last year: kickoff coverage and return, punt coverage and return. His favorite?
"Kickoff. Absolutely kickoff. You get to go knock some heads on that. The blocking part kind of puts you on the other side of the ball, on the offense. But yeah, kickoff, definitely. You get to get a full head of steam and go knock some heads."
Talking with Justin Rogers is incongruous with this embracing of violent collisions. At 6-4 and 250, the blond, thick-necked Rogers has the winning grin and unfailing polite demeanor you expect to find in Greenville. But his SMU resume shows a knack for big defensive plays: second in school history in sacks, first team all-Conference USA as a senior. Nose for the ball. Motor. Football player.
And Saturday night in San Diego, Justin Rogers will show the rookies how to compete and make an impression.
"I tell all the young guys," he says, " you just have to keep competing. Even if you mess up, you have to put one foot in front of the other and keep performing. Like last year, I was so uncertain if New England was going to keep me, but it's a job interview. If not the team you're with right then, you have other teams looking at you. That's what happened to me."
Now, with a year under his belt in the league, Rogers knows he can play at this level. He's more relaxed and comfortable because he's more confident. "You get to jell with the guys, get the feeling for the system, the calls, the coaches. It's a different experience."
Justin Rogers knows he and Kevin Burnett and Bobby Carpenter have to be leaders on the special teams if the team is to be successful. He knows he has to make the most of the opportunities he gets to play linebacker. Justin Rogers is smart. He knows that you have to have Tony Romos and DeMarcus Wares to win in the NFL. But he also knows you have to have a few Justin Rogers.
Saturday night, don't ask the family to leave early. This is when Justin Rogers gets to play, and he's going to make the most of it.
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